Fox's New Reality Show Utopia Already Seems Like A Disaster

Fox’s latest reality series, Utopia, hasn’t even premiered yet, but it’s already proven to have a slew of problems. On Tuesday, a 25 year-old contestant going by the name Hex had to be taken to the hospital due to a severe case of dehydration. It’s not the first time one of the show’s contestants has had to leave the program and it won’t be the last, but it is surprising that Fox has had so many problems with the series before it even airs an episode.

TMZ first broke the news about Hex and her health problems, noting that Hex was unlikely to be in any real danger and had just been taken to the hospital for “precautionary measures.” She was hospitalized for 5 hours at Henry Mayo Hospital in Valencia. The news comes just days after fellow contestant Andrea Cox was kicked off the show due to sneaking in a smartphone and researching the other contestants. In Hex’s case, there is a happy ending, however. After being treated at the hospital, she was allowed to return to the Utopia set.

The show follows 15 individuals who have been dropped off in an isolated, 3-acre area where cameras are trained on them all of the time. The goal is to live in the wilderness, sort-of how Survivor worked in its earliest amalgamations; however, the Utopia cast members will also be facing challenges revolving around creating a brand new society and culture. It sounds like a reality competition, but it’s not. There is no prize. Thus, it’s been praised by those involved as the realest of real reality, although obviously, sending a person off of the compound and allowing them to be treated medically doesn’t really fit into Utopia’s isolated community premise. I guess allowing medical treatment is better than getting sued.

Interestingly, Big Brother-style livestream cameras are also a big part of the brand new experiment show, but the live feeds did not choose to show the subsequent hospitalization of Hex, probably because it destroys any semblance of actual reality. Honestly, Fox has invested a lot in Utopia. Stars have been signed on to the show for 52 weeks of hard living in the wilderness, and casting is ongoing just in case there are cell phone or health issues (also, cast members can totally be kicked off the series). It’s only Day 5 of the drama and it’s looking like Fox might have more problems to navigate than the network may have expected. If you are interested in seeing Utopia turn into a disaster, you can tune in when the show premieres during primetime on Fox. The first episode will air Sunday, September 7 at 8 p.m. ET. If you are interested in other fall premieres, you can take a look at our Fall Premiere Schedule.